Perception
by Ventiwings
Summary: Tears didn't fit her at all.


Perception

Summary: Tears didn't fit her at all.

(Could also be known as "He thought, she thought" which ever you prefer)

One shot!

* * *

><p>He saw pictures of her in the room where they interviewed him.<p>

She was pretty, he thought.

He mused about being able to sing with her, or even surpass her. She was famous, incredibly so, and he really wanted to be at the top. Think about it, a new comer beating the leading mascot of the company, wouldn't that be impressive?

It would – especially - give him good publicity.

* * *

><p>Then his new master introduced him to everyone.<p>

They were the people he's always wanted to meet. All were so different from one another, in appearance, in voices, and in personality. He began to wonder how they managed to have worked together all these years with their sanity still intact.

Finally, through the chaos of meeting each of them respectively, he cut through the crowd and bumped into her.

She was standing in front of him, in person.

She's pretty, he thought.

Her smile was captivating.

* * *

><p>They didn't spend much time together since he was immediately pulled away to do some original songs.<p>

He spent a lot of time with this other girl. SF-A2 Miki.

The two had similarities in appearance, but their voices didn't mix as well as he thought.

Still, he enjoyed her company and she did as well.

Both were happy that their popularity was starting to increase.

However, he still didn't beat _her _yet.

* * *

><p>When he finally got to sing with her, she had a different voice.<p>

It sounded more human and not as high pitched as her usual singing voice.

She told him it was something called an append and said that it wasn't going to be anytime soon that he was going to have one. He was discouraged to know that he was left behind in her glorious spot as a star.

He was definitely eating her dust.

* * *

><p>They didn't sing any more songs with each other.<p>

Although, their voices complimented one another, regardless of that strange append.

He was happy, though, even if it was a one-time thing. Singing a duet with her, that is.

He wanted to get famous on his own, anyway.

* * *

><p>There wasn't enough; not enough of his own original songs, so he was stuck doing cover songs made by the others in the company. Even though he didn't have any original songs, he still was able to sing.<p>

That made him happy enough. Delighted.

He realized he sang a song by the person he's been trying to beat.

People favored his version over hers and his heart soared a bit. Then he realized that it was still her song and he was getting famous of it.

She was still far ahead.

* * *

><p>Maybe he could do a video.<p>

That would help boast his publicity and possibly make it as popular as the others. He was still pretty new and there were so many people who haven't heard of him yet.

Everyone told him to give it a try since they made their own and several hundreds more.

He gave it a try and was jubilant to know that people liked it.

He was finally given the opportunity to catch up.

* * *

><p>His heart broke.<p>

She was going to perform somewhere else. It was a foreign area to him and the others in the company, who both supported her and envied her, and it made his blood boil.

She was happy, ecstatic, to know that she would become a hit in a new land. Across the seas, her voice would spread joy or sadness to all who live there.

Why was she so lucky?

* * *

><p>It was still going to take time for her to leave there while leaving everyone else in her wake.<p>

Still, even with the news of her new destination, he still kept producing music. He was still trying to gain popularity.

He wanted to go with her, to go where the others will be the victims of envy while he was the one blessed. In addition, he didn't want his goal to be so out of reach that his dream of surpassing her would be impossible.

Something else in the pit of his stomach and chest made him cringe.

* * *

><p>She still didn't leave.<p>

He was working harder and harder as the seconds ticked by. Her success was haunting him, and because of this, he begged to have more songs made for him to sing.

The master told him to rest and soon they were going to give him gigs. He kept them to their promises.

He wanted her to come back and be stunned that the company had a new mascot in Japan.

* * *

><p>His anxiety was making him an insomniac.<p>

Miki told him to relax, so he did by watching the others perform their music videos.

All of them were so talented, but then he had to see hers. Everything looked fantastic as she sung alone.

Her voice was in its original state: high pitched and inhuman; just the way he first heard it.

Then something made him cringe.

* * *

><p>She was still better than him in all shapes and sizes. He was beginning to lose faith in his chances of winning a head start.<p>

The master gave him something to sing and he was thrilled.

However, it still wasn't enough.

He had such a pitiful number compared to her number of songs.

There was hardly any competition to begin with.

* * *

><p>People started requesting him. This truly made him feel alive and excited.<p>

He had a feeling that he couldn't describe as he began singing on stage in front of people who loved him or were beginning to love him. Maybe all of his efforts were paying off and this was the fruit of his labor.

For whatever reason, the spotlight began getting cold when he heard the next person to get up on stage.

He cursed his luck.

She received more applause.

* * *

><p>America was the place where she was going. He remembered knowing fans from that place were rather large in number of their company. He didn't think people outside of Japan would know of their music, but he was wrong.<p>

Of course, he wouldn't know, he was incredibly focused on his own personal train of thought.

Where this train was going, he didn't know.

As long as he got to where she is in a short amount of time, then he was going to be happy.

She was.

* * *

><p>Everyone was rushing around him.<p>

A new member was going to join their family, but he was going to be speaking in English. That didn't matter to him; he was concentrated on his future goals of success and glory.

A new singer wasn't going to compromise his plan of action.

She didn't let that happen when he joined.

His first impression of her changed.

She's my rival, he thought.

* * *

><p>She was alone on our practice stage. The spotlight wasn't working so it was strange to see her without anything to enhance her atmosphere of success.<p>

She wasn't in costume and she definitely wasn't shining.

Then, she fell and he quickly ran to her.

She was exhausted, but still struggled to sing.

Something began to cascade and he recognized them as tears.

She apologized and quickly departed, limping towards the exit, still singing with a crackling voice.

Tears didn't fit her at all.

* * *

><p>He went back to the stage, the spotlight now working, and he began to sing.<p>

The fans cheered and began singing along with him. His heart began flying above the clouds as he moved about, enjoying everyone's attention on him. When it was over, he returned behind the curtain, relaxing backstage.

The next name made his heart drop.

People cheered in different octaves and pitches, that it was hard for him to hear his own thoughts.

It wasn't hers.

* * *

><p>Master told them that she wasn't feeling well afterward and that she was sent home.<p>

They weren't allowed to see her and she was kept out of their way.

No one minded and went to doing what they loved to do, other than singing of course.

He didn't know a life without singing, so he started doing covers on her songs. She was going to be out of his way for most likely a few days, so that gave him the head-start he needed.

He wanted to fix a permanent spot in the competition that would solely be his.

His eyes aimed for first place.

* * *

><p>They didn't hear any news about her.<p>

Everyone else started to get worried, but he stayed the same. He couldn't show sympathy for his rival. If he did then he was going to slowly fall back into last without realizing it.

So he started to request more work, but found that their master was concentrated on her.

He felt jealousy raging inside.

* * *

><p>After a month, she got better and found everyone else had as well.<p>

Even after her hiatus, she still remained in first and he felt the jealousy raging inside of him. She was so blessed and he was so cursed. He wanted his misfortune, his anger, his negativity, to wail itself on her, but he restrained it behind an innocent façade.

When he was going back to the studio to practice, she stopped him.

He tried to run away from her. He didn't want her to poison his chances of overcoming her.

She apologized and released him, leaving without another word.

He was confused and heartbroken.

* * *

><p>Her append costumes were beautiful.<p>

She was beautiful, he thought.

Then his jealousy negated that impression and he went back to watching and practicing with the others. This other singer, Len Kagamine, was his so-called rival. At least, that's what the fans kept saying.

They were on neutral terms, seeing as how mature the blond-haired singer was in contrast to his mirror image. Neither could deny their desire of beating the company's mascot, and thus a truce started.

They became friends after that and one half forgot their truce.

Len forgot, but he didn't.

* * *

><p>She began spending more time with everyone. It was strange since now her performances in Japan were beginning to lessen. The requests for her to appear on stage multiplied, but she and master ignored them. They declared she was taking a much-needed vacation and thus she was seen around the studio frequently.<p>

She would give him words of advice that he would grudgingly accept. It helped his performances greatly.

He started seeing her as a teacher and began following her around.

The others started teasing him about him being a dog on a leash. He ignored them. He had his own motives of following the famous icon around.

He wanted to know her weaknesses.

He wanted to destroy her.

* * *

><p>They grew close, but still didn't sing that many duets.<p>

Fans didn't request them together as much as they did with him and Len or with him and Miki.

She didn't mind, but he did.

He still didn't find her weakness, or any at all.

There was no way in the depths of his mind that she was perfect.

No one was able to beat perfection.

* * *

><p>She began to distance himself, but he still clung to her, wishing to know more.<p>

She told him to stray from her shadow and slowly faded away.

He didn't see her for a week, and finally discovered that it was time; the time she was going to leave them for a new adventure.

Her bags were packed and she was staying at a hotel where she was held for safety, so nothing could happen to her. Everyone said their goodbyes when she visited them one last time.

He didn't.

Instead, he followed her back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>He confessed his motives, but she laughed.<p>

He was offended and began to yell at her, blaming his stress, his misfortunes, his unpopularity on her. Instead, she just nodded and accepted the blame like a brick wall. Nothing fazed her, not even the shove and the threats of ending her life.

All she did was hold the smile on her lips.

He began to cry without even realizing it and she finally whispered something to him. She kept repeating it and it made him cry even more. He was pulled into her embrace as she kept whispering sweet nothings.

"It's okay, Piko." He cried harder as she stroked his white hair. "Tears don't suit you. It's okay, Piko."

He left, and so did she.

* * *

><p>He found her weakness. It was fear.<p>

It was fear of going to a new place and being forgotten.

It was fear of leaving her comfort zone.

It was fear of not being loved.

It was fear of not having any friends.

It was fear of not being able to sing.

Her biggest one was not being able to be useful for their master.

He soon found that his jealousy was not of her being famous, but it was of her dedication of their master.

He found a new rival.

* * *

><p>Len caught him in the studio, producing a new song. He plucked him out of there and after a year of waiting, there she was.<p>

She was still stunning. She was animatedly talking with their master, the man he was jealous of, and finally landed her eyes on the two that arrived.

His stomach was uneasy and she unexpectedly embraced him.

She wanted to do a duet.

* * *

><p>He never imagined having such a great amount of people in one of his own gigs. Since his ambition of beating her was tossed aside, he didn't think much about the number of fans.<p>

Everyone screamed her name, chanting in unison while some screeched his.

She still outweighed him, but it didn't feel as threatening anymore.

He accepted that she was better.

She didn't.

* * *

><p>After their show, the next member went up to sing and they were inflicted by their own energetic response from their fans.<p>

She led him towards the end of the hall and his chest started hurting.

She thanked him for performing with her and then left the stage hall. His chest wouldn't stop its fast-paced beating.

He was confused.

* * *

><p>She's a puzzle, he thought.<p>

He was terrible with puzzles, but tried solving her anyway.

He was close, one time, but master ruined his chances when she bounded towards him.

His jealousy was enraged.

* * *

><p>She cornered him with fright in her eyes.<p>

He was trying to avoid her. It made the pain lessen.

She wanted to know why he hated her. She began to cry and soon he threw his arms around her and whispered sweet nothings. He was reminded of how she comforted him.

"It's okay, Miku." She cried into his shoulder, trembling in confusion. "Tears don't suit you. It's okay, Miku."

She decided to embrace him back.

* * *

><p>He didn't hate her.<p>

He didn't like her.

Nor did he think they were friends.

She didn't hate him or like him or thought they would be friends.

It's because they weren't friends or enemies.

They were something that both of them wanted to be.

* * *

><p>Everyone decided to follow the two. They wanted to know why they were having mood swings and made the atmosphere feel tense.<p>

When they returned home, they were all flustered and wouldn't give the two eye contact.

They laughed in unison.

The two of them knew they were followed.

* * *

><p>He was popular now and he enjoyed every fiber of it.<p>

His appearances were highly requested, and soon master needed to tone down his number of songs. He still didn't beat her yet, but that didn't matter.

He was okay in getting out of the competition. He already won a better prize anyway.

She was his and no one else's.

She never complained.

* * *

><p>She was sweet, he thought.<p>

His lips parted from hers as she fell back to her bed. They didn't have any interruptions. No one had the heart to cut in.

Their hearts were already slowly cracking in half.

Both of them were crying and soon they started chanting in unison.

"It's okay." They couldn't help but smile at their synchronicity. "Tears don't suit you at all."

Master pulled the plug.

* * *

><p>It's been a year since the tragic event, and he couldn't bare it any longer.<p>

Len and Miki had helped him in the months of separation, and they both knew that they couldn't compensate. They knew that they couldn't replace Miku.

He didn't bother confirming nor denying the remark.

But they all knew that it was true.

No one could replace Miku.

No one wanted to be the icon anymore.

* * *

><p>They were crying.<p>

Both of them were wailing at the sight of his body placed beside hers.

He whispered softly to them, feeling the life slowly draining away.

Master was silent.

"It's okay." The wretched phrase started. "Tears don't suit you."

They still cried and soon master pulled the plug.

He lost another beloved child.

* * *

><p>He didn't beat her. They all knew it was impossible that a newcomer would be able to do that to their very own mascot.<p>

However, they all knew he won a better prize than success in beating their icon.

He won her.

He won her through her weakness of her attraction and curiosity of him.

He just didn't know it.

* * *

><p>She first saw him by the picture master showed everyone.<p>

_He was cute_, she thought.

Then she met him.

_He was handsome_, she thought.

Then she performed with him.

_He was a good singer_, she thought.

Then she fell in love with him.

_He was a thief_, she thought.

Then he cried in her arms.

_He was hurt_, she thought.

Then they got together.

_He was my future_, she thought.

Then she died, receiving one last kiss from him.

_He was my present_, she thought.

Then she said her final farewell.

He followed, just like before.

* * *

><p>This was a weird fanfiction to write. I was actually planning on writing the next chapter of Sweet, but then this randomly appeared in my head. I think it's cause I randomly thought of this Persona 3 fanfiction I read two nights before. Anyway, I liked it. I've always liked fanfictions like these.<p>

This will continue to be a one shot, but if anyone would like then you could choose a scene and I'll try to spawn off its own stand alone/branch one shot.

Thanks for reading!

~Ventus


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